Best Cities for Product Managers

We are in the golden age of product management, which makes it a great time to be a Product Manager in any city. 

Some cities offer more benefits to Product Managers than others. For example, some have more job opportunities, higher salaries, and more chances for networking. Product Managers who work in major tech hubs find that their careers advance faster. However, you must factor in cost of living when considering living in a major tech hub. 

What is a Product Manager?

A Product Manager manages a specific product, including physical products, software programs, and other digital products. Product Managers are often called the “CEO of a product,” and manage its design, development, and appeal to customers. 

Product Managers need a strong combination of business skills, design skills, and tech skills. 

Because Product Managers oversee all the parts of a product, they are required to have three core skill sets: coding, user-driven design, and project management. Product Managers often work with development teams, marketing teams, design teams, stakeholders, and users to ensure the success of a product. 

Product Managers provide the “what” and “why” behind a business’s products, using research and user-driven design principles. 

What Makes a City Good for Product Managers?

When considering which cities are best for Product Managers, there are a few factors to consider, including job opportunities, networking opportunities, salaries, remote work options, and the number of startups. 

All of these factors contribute to making a city a good one for Product Managers. 

Job Opportunities

You’ll want to find out how many job opportunities exist for Product Managers in your area. Naturally, larger metropolitan areas and tech hubs will have more product management jobs. They’ll also have a lot more competition. You should decide whether you want to be a big fish in a small pond or you want to be in a place where jobs are abundant. 

You’ll also want to take into account your industry or specialization. Some areas have more jobs in certain industries than others. For example, if you’re a construction or manufacturing-focused Product Manager, then you’ll want to consider an area like Las Vegas or Arizona, where more jobs are available in these industries. 

However, keep in mind that product management as a field is growing everywhere. Don’t limit yourself to major metropolitan areas or tech hubs. There are some surprising places, such as Detroit, New Hampshire, and Louisiana, where product management jobs are growing rapidly. For example, Bozeman, Montana, has an incredibly low cost of living and a surprisingly robust number of product management jobs. 

High Salaries

The salaries for Product Managers vary by city, industry, company, and experience. Product management is one of the few roles where you can make a “tech salary” without being an engineer. The average salary for Product Managers in the United States is around $110,000 a year, which is more than double the average income across all occupations.

In certain cities, Product Managers earn a higher average salary than this: in the San Francisco Bay Area, Product Managers earn around $130,000 a year. A Product Manager in Raleigh, North Carolina, makes exactly the national average at around $110,000 a year. Product Managers in Houston, TX, earn less than the national average at around $97,000 a year. 

Some companies, such as major tech firms, provide additional compensation beyond salaries, such as bonuses and stock incentives. For example, the average base salary for a Product Manager at Amazon is around $140,000 a year. Amazon pays additional bonuses and stock options of around $75,000, making the annual income of a Product Manager at Amazon closer to $215,000 a year. 

Strong Product Manager Community

You’ll want to seek out a city with a strong product management community. This is especially important for new and aspiring Product Managers who have yet to build a strong professional network. 

Major tech hubs will have a larger product management community than smaller cities. However, there are some networking options for Product Managers outside of major cities. The Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) is a product management professional association with over 25,000 members. PDMA offers local chapters in many geographical areas, including outside of major cities. For example, the Minnesota chapter offers networking and professional development opportunities for Product Managers who live in Minnesota. 

Remote and Hybrid-Remote Positions

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has become much more common. Many Product Manager positions are either fully remote or hybrid remote, meaning you only have to come to the office a few days a week. Many product management professionals predict that this trend will continue to grow. 

By seeking a remote or hybrid position, you can potentially alleviate some cost of living expenses by living in a cheaper area than the one where your company is based. You’ll also be setting yourself up for excellent work experience since your ability to remotely manage a product will become more valuable if the remote work trend continues. 

However, keep in mind that working remotely may have some disadvantages if you’re a new Product Manager with little to no job experience. Working remotely, you’ll miss out on networking, mentorship, and social opportunities that come from working in an office setting. Many professional Product Managers recommend that you work at least hybrid for the first 5-7 years of your product management career. 

Number of Startups

The number of startups in a city can determine its suitability as a great city for Product Managers, especially for new Product Managers. Startups are most likely to hire new Product Managers with less or no job experience. Finding a city with a lot of startups is a great way to launch a new career as a Product Manager. 

Because startups typically have fewer employees and less corporate structure, you’ll also wear more hats as a Product Manager. This can be great for new Product Managers who want to bulk up their Product Manager Portfolio or resume. It also means you could be taking on a lot of additional responsibilities. 

Top Cities for Product Managers

Do some research on the best cities in the U.S. for Product Managers. Try to find articles/reviews from the last two years and use your discretion on which cities to include on this list. You’re not replicating the work of surveys but rather reporting on them in the aggregate. You do not need to rank your choices.

To help get started, you can search for your assigned career on Indeed, and it will show the highest-paying cities for that particular job. These often correlate with the cost of living in that area, which is fine to point out. 

San Francisco Bay Area - Silicon Valley

The San Francisco Bay Area includes San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Redwood City, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale, CA. It is known as Silicon Valley because it has the highest concentration of tech companies and startups in the world, with around 400,000 tech jobs. 

Some of the most famous tech companies in the world are headquartered in Silicon Valley, including Apple, Alphabet (Google), Facebook, Oracle, Intel, Cisco, Samsung, and Netflix. Silicon Valley is also home to major non-tech companies, such as Wells Fargo, Visa, and Chevron. 

You’ll find more job opportunities and higher salaries for Product Managers than in any other place in the world. This makes Silicon Valley a great place to be a Product Manager. However, potential drawbacks include a high cost of living and stiffer competition on the job market.

The average salary for a Product Manager in the San Francisco Bay Area is around $130,000 a year. 

Seattle, Washington

Seattle has been a major tech hub since the 1980s, largely because it is the home of Microsoft, which for decades was the largest tech company in the world. Now, Seattle is a bustling tech and startup hub and home to Amazon, Starbucks, Costco, Alaska Airlines, and Nordstrom. 

With all of these tech giants, Seattle boasts a large product management community. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle’s tech jobs have grown at double the rate of any other city in the U.S. Because of its longstanding tech dominance, there are many senior-level Product Managers in the area, leading to more opportunities for networking and advancement. 

Seattle also has an incredibly high quality of living and is surrounded by beautiful natural spaces. Keep in mind that although Seattle has no state income taxes, there is a higher-than-average cost of living. 

The average salary for a Product Manager in Seattle is around $110,000 per year. 

Austin, TX

Austin used to be known as “the live music capital of the world,” but lately, the capital city of Texas has gained a new nickname: “Silicon Hills.” This is because Austin ranks #1 for tech company migrations in the United States. Many major tech companies have relocated or built major facilities in Austin, including Tesla, SpaceX, Facebook, Apple, Dell, and Alphabet (Google). 

Austin is now home to over 5,500 startups and tech companies. This means that Austin offers the same job opportunities and high salaries as other tech hubs without the high cost of living. A tech working in the San Francisco Bay Area making $165,000 would make an equivalent of $234,000 a year in Austin once you factor in cost of living and lack of income tax.

The average salary for a Product Manager in Austin, TX, is around $125,000 per year. 

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta has been the southern center of business for decades. It is the home of 16 Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Delta Airlines, and UPS. In 2019, Atlanta had the second-fastest growing economy in the United States, driven by tech, startups, and a rising film and entertainment industry. 

Atlanta Tech Village is a startup incubator and tech hub designed to foster a robust tech community within the city. It has directly contributed to Atlanta becoming the 4th largest tech hub in the United States. Atlanta Tech Village is home to more than 300 companies and has contributed to over 6,500 jobs being added in the city. 

The average salary for a Product Manager in Atlanta is around $108,000 a year. 

Boston, MA

Boston’s product management industry is different than the other cities on this list. Rather than being dominated by tech, Boston’s product management industry is mostly situated in healthcare, education, biomedical, and government contractors. This makes Boston’s product management jobs more recession-resistant than in tech hubs or startup-centric cities. 

That’s not to say that Boston doesn’t have a presence in tech: Boston is currently ranked as #8 in the nation for tech careers. It also has more institutions of higher learning than any other city in the U.S., including Harvard, Boston College, and Tufts. Amazon is increasing its presence in Boston and already employs more than 4,500 people there.

The Boston Product Management Association (BPMA) is a product management professional community for the greater Boston area. BPMA provides networking, mentorship, career growth, and job opportunities for Product Managers in the area. 

The average salary for a Product Manager in Boston is around $110,000 a year. 

How to Find a Product Manager Job

If you’re interested in launching a new career as a Product Manager, you’re probably wondering how you find a job in product management. With more and more companies recognizing the need for Product Managers, you’ll be able to find open positions on popular job boards, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn. 

There are also more niche job sites, such as Mind the Product and ProductHQ. If you’re a woman, you might consider checking Women in Product, which offers job listings as well as conferences and workshops designed to help women who work in product management. 

If you’re a new Product Manager with less experience, you’ll probably find the best position at a startup. Because startups are just getting their start, they’re more likely to hire new Product Managers so they can grow together. The popularity of startups has been a driving force behind the popularity of product management. Don’t limit your thinking to the tech industry, though. Product Managers are in high demand in every industry. 

Many Product Managers begin by working in one of the product management core skill sets, such as coding, UX design, or project management. If you’re new to all three, you might decide which you want to “focus on” when training and then seek a job in that field to gain experience for your product management career. 

Once you’re ready to start working as a Product Manager, you’ll need to create a Product Manager Portfolio, which is a document that creates a narrative about why you’re qualified to work as a Product Manager. Consider your portfolio to be a visual and textual representation of your qualifications. A competitive Product Manager Portfolio should include previous job experience, skills and strengths, education (such as product management bootcamps and certificate programs), and case studies. One great tip for making your portfolio is to think of it as communicating your personal brand. 

Learn the Skills to Become a Product Manager at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers business, design, and coding classes live online and in-person classes at their state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. Training at Noble Desktop offers aspiring Product Managers a huge head start since they specialize in the three core job skills: coding, user-driven design, and project management. 

All of Noble Desktop’s courses are taught by expert instructors, have guaranteed small class sizes, and feature a “free retake” option, meaning you can “retake” any course for free for up to one year to continue developing your skills. Noble Desktop uses a unique approach to career training: their expert instructors teach a “micro-lecture” and then immediately guide students through applying what they’ve learned through real-world, hands-on projects. This unique approach guarantees that you’ll learn the skills you need to launch a new career as a Product Manager. 

Hiring managers report that certificates and certifications move a resume to the top of the pile. Noble Desktop offers certificate programs in the three core skill sets: software engineering, user-driven design (UX), and project management. Earning certificates in these core skill sets can help you launch a new career as a Product Manager. 

Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate provides the technical experience needed by a Product Manager. This certificate program is divided into two parts: front end development (what you see) and back end development (how it works). In the first part, expert instructors guide students through coding in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In the second part, expert instructors guide students through the fundamentals of coding in Python, Django, and querying with SQL. Professional Product Managers often recommend learning SQL as an additional skill. This certificate program will give you a head start. Graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Software Engineering, which is shareable on LinkedIn. 

Product Managers are advocates for the user: they know how to use research and data to make sure the product meets the user’s needs. To do this, you’ll need skills in user experience (UX) design. Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate provides comprehensive training in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Students are guided through hands-on, real-world projects to learn user-driven design principles, user research, product prototype building, creating product case studies, and visual designs. This certificate program also trains students in using Figma and Sketch for design and prototyping. Graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in UX & UI design, which is verifiable and shareable on Linkedin. 

Project management is a very hot career path on its own and one of the core skill sets of becoming a Product Manager. You might think of a Product Manager as handling the “what” and “why” and project management as handling the “how” and “when.” Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp project management courses are taught by PMP-certified Project Managers. Students are guided through real-world projects to develop skills in the Project Life Cycle, project management terminology, project selection and scheduling, resource management, risk management, and Agile Frameworks. 

If you’d like to read more about becoming a Product Manager, you might check out this Product Management Learn Hub. Combining these certificates on your resume is a fantastic way to launch a new career as a Product Manager.